


5 Times Lisbon Went Out Of Her Way + 1 Time Someone Did It For Her

by Mystiction



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Chigsby, Crying Kimball Cho, Jane is Annoying, M/M, Rigsby Needs Help, Sad Kimball Cho, Sick Madeliene Hightower, Tired Teresa Lisbon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28473597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystiction/pseuds/Mystiction
Summary: Being Special Agent was a tiring job, but when Patrick Jane is added into the mix, what isn't? A 5 about Lisbon being selfless and helping the team, +1 when someone helped her out.
Relationships: Kimball Cho/Wayne Rigsby
Comments: 17
Kudos: 19





	1. Patrick Jane

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Constructive criticism is valued, and so are comments and kudos! Thanks!
> 
> And... Happy New Year!! I hope you have a great year ahead!
> 
> PS. My discord is Mystiction #5518, so if anyone wants to talk, say just your number in the comments and then send me a friend request (so that I know it's someone from AO3)

Lisbon's head felt like a construction site. It felt like someone dropped a bunch of bricks and rocks on her head, and enjoyed it too much. Rigsby's laughter sounded like he was using a megaphone. And Jane. Patrick Jane was now standing in front of her, trying to show her one of his new card tricks. Judging by the amount of them he'd already shown her, she didn't think any more even existed. 

"Lisbon. Lisbon!" she realized he was talking to her. 

"Huh? What, Jane?" 

"I said, pick a card. Thinking about that hot mailroom guy, are you?", he said, a cheeky smile coming on to his face. 

"Shut up, Jane. And go away." "Ouch.", he said, clutching his heart, being the ever so dramatic Jane. "But okay, I'll go." and he took his deck of cards and muttered something that sounded too much like "I can probably get a hundred dollars gambling with Rigsby with this trick."

And Lisbon had to use all her energy to say- "You will do no such thing!", right before he was gone. 

***

She had no idea how much time had passed since Jane had been in her room, but he was here again.

"Hey Lisbon, I may have said some bad stuff to another agent- about my "obsession" with Red John." "BUT", he said, a little too loud, "I will not apologize." "You understand, right?"

God! Jane and Red John. "What did you do, Jane?" she said, looking up at him. "I cannot keep cleaning up your messes. Tell me what you said to him." 

"I'd rather not. You are scary when you're angry."

"That bad, huh?" 

"Yep. Okay, it's couch time. Bye! And I forgot to tell you, Hightower, is furious!"

"Jane!" She popped 3 aspirins in her mouth and got herself ready for the lecture from Hightower.

***

"Lisbon, this is unacceptable. I get that Jane is an asset to the team, but his behavior with other agents is getting out of hand. And Cho and Rigsby? Right after him and Van Pelt? I thought that it was clear when I said agents are not allowed to be romantically involved with co-workers. Handle them. Oh yeah, and apologize to Agent O' Laughlin. On Jane's behalf."

Lisbon was tired and now fed up with Jane's antics. She got his feelings of vengeance for Red John but was it necessary for him to shower his anger on anybody who doesn't? And it was someone from the FBI. That was a problem in itself. She needed to have a talk with him. 

***

Lisbon's headache had slowly been fading, but Hightower's lecture had brought it all back. She really hated Jane. Thankfully, O'Laughlin was completely cool about the incident, which took some of her burdens, but as soon as she got making her way to her room, he heard Van Pelt say-

"Boss, we caught a case!"

As much as Lisbon loved her job, sometimes she just wished she could curl up in her bed and forget all about it.


	2. Wayne Rigsby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone reading this fanfiction! I will be forever grateful. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

"Boss!"

Rigsby's deep voice was heard throughout Lisbon's room. But she was in no mood to hear what he had to say. She was free for the day (she could rest well) and had spent the whole of last night in CBI, doing paperwork for the Lassata murder case. So to say she was extremely tired was an understatement. 

"Boss. I need your help. Big date with Cho. I haven't planned anything."

"You forgot to plan the "big date" with Cho?"

Rigsby nodded shamefully. The "big date" was Rigsby's special date with Cho and he had been blabbering about it all week. 

"Why do you need my help then? Surely you don't need me to go around you and say Oh, Rigsby, wear this, Oh Rigsby, gift him that!", she scoffed. 

"Uh, I guess I do want you to help me with that.", he said sheepishly.

Sometimes Lisbon felt like she was talking to a donkey. "Why don't you ask Jane. Or Van Pelt? I bet she can help you way better than I can."

"Van Pelt's seems kind of angry with me, and Jane's doing whatever it is he does in that attic."

Lison sighed. As much as she wanted to rest, she cared about Rigsby and didn't want to hurt him. So she just said- "Okay, I'll do it."

And Rigsby's face lit up with a smile. 

***  
Lisbon's eyes felt like they would close and she would fall asleep even though she was standing. But she needed to help Rigsby buy a suit.

"Hey, that suit looks cool!"

"Rigs, you're going on a date, not to get married. What about that one? Try it on."

"We should reserve a place in The El Royale," said Rigsby.

"Are you a millionaire?"

"No, but Jane is. He gave me a free coupon!"

"Why didn't you say before!?"

***

It took them 3 long hours to put everything together, and now Rigsby looked like a kid on Christmas morning. 

"I owe you one, Boss."

"You sure do," she said, smiling.

***

Rigsby thought it would be good to get Lisbon a coffee so he took one to go, but saw that she was asleep. So, he gave it to Cho instead. She did look kind of tired when they were out planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Prompts are open! What do you want to see in my next The Mentalist fic?


	3. Kimball Cho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This chapter is way sadder than the others, but it provides good sad Cho content.   
> Happy reading!

Lisbon, like almost every day, was tired. She had spent half the day running around a suspect, just to find out she had a solid alibi. Jane saw something in the victim's house that triggered a panic attack so she needed to spend some time calming him down and convincing him to rest at home. She was just passing the interrogation room when she heard someone cry.  
She thought about whether she should check on the person or not, but her motherly side won and she looked inside the room.

It was Cho.  
Cho, who was always deadpan, never showed emotion on his face, was crying in an interrogation room.

"Cho?", she said, in a gentle voice. He turned around to look at her, and the sight that greeted her was unforgettable. Cho's eyes were red and puffy, and his face was teary and wet.

"Boss?" he replied, in a broken voice.

"Yeah, it's me. Is everything okay?" Lisbon went and sat next to him.

"Y-You don't need to stay here. I'm good."

"I want to stay here. Are you really okay?" Lisbon used the voice she used when her brothers were sad or needed any help.

"My grandmother died. In a car accident. Hit and run." Cho sounded devastated, and Lisbon knew she had to help him through this.

"I'm sorry, Cho. Do you want to talk about her?"

He nodded, but it was so small, she may have missed it. 

"She was coming over here. Because I called her. I can't help but think that it was all my fault."

"No, Cho. None of this was your fault. She must have been so happy to come and meet you. "

A sad smile appeared on Cho's face. "Yeah. She always said we should meet, but I was always busy with CBI work." Lisbon felt a little pang of guilt. Should she be giving her team more free time? 

"My father never really spent any time with her, so she said I was like her only son." Cho was openly crying again. "She helped me make the decision of getting out of Avon Park Playboys. I still can't believe she's gone."

Lisbon said, "You should go home. Take the day off tomorrow. It will help, Cho. And it will get better."

Then Cho got up and hugged her, and said- "Thank you, boss." 

***

The next day, Cho wasn't at work. Rigsby shot Lisbon a smile full of gratitude. Cho probably told him about yesterday. 

And last night, Lisbon wasn't able to get the rest she deserved. After getting home, she realized she needed to do some paperwork. But today, she felt happy. Very tired, but happy. 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Kudos and comments are appreciated, constructive criticism is valued :)


	4. Grace Van Pelt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope I got Van Pelt's character properly. Tell me who you want the 5th person Lisbon helps to be. 
> 
> Happy reading!

Teresa Lisbon had been working hard today. The very tiring case they were working on had taken a turn to the worse, and 2 more people were killed in the same MO. Shockingly, the killer was a Red John copycat, but they were copying one single murder of his. The murder of Angela and Charlotte Jane. The days they had been working on this case had been exceptionally hard for Jane, and his clever mind wasn't working at it's best. Hightower and Lisbon were also trying to get the media's attention away from him, so she had told Jane to take it easy. He spent the whole day in his attic, and Lisbon went to meet him in the nights. 

She thought she was alone in the bullpen, but then she heard the ruffling of paper. She got up, wincing as the muscle she pulled in her leg yesterday was moved, and walked over to the desks of her teammates.

"Boss?" Van Pelt's voice replied.

"Grace? I thought you went home at 4!" This case had been tiring for everyone (more so for Lisbon, but she would never admit that) so she sent them all home at 4 o'clock because she was just catching up on some paperwork and would be doing so until _she_ went home. 

"I did, but I came back at 6. I wanted to be of more help, so..." she shrugged as if she was saying "you know?" "I did do the research you told me to do tomorrow. Any info from the forensics yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Oh," Van Pelt said, almost sadly.

"Van Pelt, is everything alright?" Lisbon said, sitting down on Cho's table.

"It's just that, you know, this is all so tiring and hard for you and Jane, and I can't help but feel we aren't doing enough." she sighed. 

"Come on, Van Pelt. It's nothing like that. You are a junior agent, and you are doing so much more work than you are supposed to."

"Yeah, but that day when you told me not to be slow, I felt like I could be doing so much more for you."

Lisbon could hardly remember, but then it hit her. They were working on a fairly easy case, and it was a boring case of "oh, it was an accident!" (Jane's words, not hers.) She was joking around and said that to Van Pelt.

Speaking of Van Pelt, she had taken the silence badly and broken into silent tears.

"Van Pelt, I-" Lisbon realized she was crying and went closer to her. "Van Pelt, It was just a joke. I am so sorry. I didn't mean it. And as I said, you are working so much harder than necessary. Go home. You've been here for 2 and a half hours already."

"But you've stayed longer." Van Pelt said softly. 

"That doesn't matter. Go home. I'll see you tomorrow."

Then Lisbon said goodbye to Van Pelt as she went to her car, and then went into Jane's "room"  
and talked to him. 

The next morning, Lisbon was 10 times more tired than anyone on the planet Earth, but she would never admit that. Van Pelt seemed her kind and bubbly self again, and could not be more grateful, to the one and only, Teresa Lisbon

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments are loved, constructive criticism valued! (That sounded like the lyrics of a song :-P)


	5. Madeleine Hightower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I am so sorry to not have updated in so long, and I hope this chapter makes up for it. 
> 
> Kudos are appreciated, comments are loved, and constructive criticism is valued!
> 
> Happy reading!
> 
> Edit:  
> I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT A HUNDRED HITS!   
> I can't stop smiling.   
> Thank you so much for putting your time into reading this fanfiction. It means a lot.

"Meh, she's not that bad."

"You say that because she's never scolded you for _someone_ in your team ruining a good officer's reputation."

Lisbon had gone to the kitchen to get a coffee, and Jane was also there. They were presently engaging in a debate about Madeleine Hightower, and her intentions with the CBI team. It had started off with Jane saying Hightower is like a lion. When she's angry, she's vicious, but when she's at peace, she's "pretty awesome".

"Hey, speak of the devil!" Jane said and looked at Rigsby.

"Jane, we were talking about Hightower, not Rigsby!" Lisbon said, a little surprised that Jane may not know what "speak of the devil" means.

"No, behind him!" he said, with childlike annoyance.

And sure enough, Hightower was walking behind Rigsby. He looked very excited and waved at them as he went inside the bullpen. Probably going on a date with Cho tonight. But there was something different about Hightower. Her usual confident stance was missing, and her face was a bit pale. 

"Hey, Jane, I'll be right back," Lisbon said, in a quiet tone.

Jane's voice noticeably softened and his joking tone vanished as he said- "Lisbon, are you okay?

Lisbon gave Jane a reassuring smile and said- "Yeah, I'm good." And then murmured- "But maybe Hightower isn't." But she could bet he heard her.

***

Lisbon could take lots of kinds of pain better than other people. She could run in a leg strain and do paperwork with a twisted arm. It would hurt as much as a normal person, she was no Superman, but, she could take the pain. But she could not do with fevers. They made her weak and hungry and angry.

But when she saw Hightower doing paperwork while having a fever, she couldn't just stand there and look at her in sympathy.

"Hightower?"

"Oh hey, Lisbon. No news from forensics yet?" Her voice was stiff and hoarse. The two things that made her sound even sicker.

"Oh yeah, we got that. Van Pelt and Cho are looking at it. Listen, Hightower, are you feeling fine?"

Hightower groaned and said- "It started with this nagging headache, and now I'm-"  
She sneezed and said, "Well. You get it."

Lisbon spent the rest of her free time caring for Hightower, and surprisingly, Jane helped a bit too.

The next morning, and the morning after that, Lisbon was not at work. But Hightower was. And she was healthy and grateful.


	6. Teresa Lisbon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for not updating for so long! I had no idea what to write. I hope this chapter makes up for it. 
> 
> Constructive criticism is valued, and so are comments and kudos!
> 
> Happy reading!! :D

Today was a tiring day for Jane. The morning had started off with Lisbon being grouchier than ever, and then he got punched (in the nose, of course) by the person who he very kindly pointed out as the killer. But the good thing was that Rigsby and Cho were looking very happy today, and Van Pelt seemed very pleased with herself, and he could feel a helpful vibe radiate from her. She probably (obviously) helped an old man cross the street today. 

But Lisbon was all forced smiles and was visibly trying to hide her exhaustion. Jane may annoy her a lot with his antics and seem not to care a lot or do anything when she got in trouble because of him, but he wasn't stone-hearted. So, he decided to go see her in her room. But only _after_ he got a nap.

_1.5 hours later_

Jane had just woken up from his nap, and decided to go get a cup of tea. 

***

Van Pelt was very happy today. She helped a lot of people on her way to work and even managed to buy a bouquet for her sister who was coming to visit today. Everyone was their usual self, except Lisbon. She wasn't any Jane, but she could tell something was up. Jane seemed to catch on to it too. They had been friends for years now. 

"Boss?" She went over to Lisbon and said. 

"Yeah? Got the victim's bank withdrawals?" her normally energetic voice had been quieted down to   
a tired attempt at it.

"Uh, yeah, nothing sketchy." Van Pelt said. And just with a "thanks", Lisbon was gone.

_1.5 hours later_

Van Pelt was hungry. She skipped breakfast to get to work early. "I'll take a look in the fridge", she thought, and made her way to the kitchen.

***

Today was a great morning for Rigsby. He was carpooling to work and he saw Cho in his car, so he got off the stuffy truck he was in and walked over to his boyfriend. After giving Cho a little scare (which was hilarious), he got into the car and they drove to work together. 

They reached the headquarters, but then Cho needed to meet Hightower. He really disliked Hightower sometimes. She was like a fiery dragon. But his mind shifted to something else as Lisbon walked into the room. She was devoid (he liked that word) of her normal bold stance, and didn't have a fun conversation with Jane like she always did. Something was wrong. He would talk about this with Cho later.

_1.5 hours later_

Rigsby was exhausted. He had to question the victims close friend circle, and that had taken all the energy out of him. "It's time for a coffee", he thought.

***

Cho was in a good mood today. He had met up with Rigsby earlier than he had expected, which was great, and then, of course, it had to all go downhill. Hightower called him into her office with one of her expressions that said "you think nothing is going to happen but there is a thunderstorm coming". Thankfully, she just "had a talk" with him about fraternizing with people on the job and how she thought he always "played by the rules". He came in back just in time for Lisbon telling the team about their latest case, but there was something different about her. A bad difference. He would talk about this with Rigsby later.

_1.5 hours later_

Cho had forgotten about telling Rigsby about Lisbon, until he saw Rigsby go to the kitchen. He got up from his desk and followed him to the kitchen

***

Coincidentally, everyone met in the kitchen at the same time. 

"Wow! How is everyone here?" Rigsby said, laughing. 

"Hey guys, I need to talk about something." Van Pelt said in a soft voice. 

"Hey, me too!" Everyone soon followed with the same thing to say.

"Wow! Cool! I feel like we're in a Black Mirror episode!" Rigsby piped up, pulling everyone out of their concerned thoughts about Lisbon. 

"Dude. Black Mirror is creepy." Cho said in a monotone voice.

"Okay, you guys. Whatever. We need to try and help Lisbon. Jane, any thoughts?" Van Pelt said, visibly irritated by Rigsby and Cho.

All of them, headed by Jane, walked to Lisbon's room and knocked on her door. 

"Come in", they heard her voice say. They stepped inside, and a flash of surprise crosses Lisbon's face. "What is it, you guys? Is everything okay?" 

Van Pelt was first to speak. "Boss, are you feeling fine?"

"Other than this splitting headache and a ton of paperwork left to do, yeah." Lisbon said tiredly.

"Boss, we want to help. Van Pelt and I can take you interviews for today. And tomorrow too, if you want another day off." Rigsby offered.

"And I'll deal with Jane today." Van Pelt said.

Lisbon knew she needed a break, but not like this. Not by giving all her responsibility to her team. So she just said, "No. Thank you guys, this is great, but I can't just give all of my burden to you. You're doing so much already." 

Then finally Jane spoke up and said, "Lisbon, we are doing our part, but you are doing that and a lot more. Let us help you." Jane's heartfelt tone and Lisbon's reaction made the other three feel like they should give both of them some privacy, and left the room.

"Jane. You are the reason I need to do all of this paperwork and tire myself! So don't tell me to take rest until you stop you fun and games. At least the team doesn't go around spilling secrets of goverment officials and getting into trouble!"

Jane went and stood beside Lisbon and said-

"I don't want to promise something I know I can't keep. But, I can assure you, I will try my hardest to make sure you don't have a whole bunch of paperwork waiting for you because of me. In the last 2 weeks, you've helped us all, in different ways. But now, it's our time to help you back. Especially me."

Lisbon looked calmer than she did before. And then, she whispered out a thank you, and called the team back inside. "Thank you so much. I couldn't have asked for better friends."

***

The next everyone saw Lisbon was when she was heading home, and she gave them a grateful smile. She wasn't at work for the day after, but when she came back, she was the Lisbon they knew again. Confident, energetic, and most of all- 

Selfless.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this fic is over! Thank you so much for supporting and reading it. I hope you enjoyed reading! This chapter was way longer than I expected, so I really appreciate you putting your time into reading this. 
> 
> Please leave your feedback for this fanfic in the comments.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Mystiction :)

**Author's Note:**

> Prompts are open! What do you want to see in my next The Mentalist fanfic?


End file.
